pressplay411:
Like a lot of Nigerians, I was born into a Christian home but later personally rededicated myself to Christ.

It was a great experience for me personally choosing to follow Christ. I felt his love, the presence of the Holyspirit and so I decided to be discipled.

However, I realised that the body of Christ is divided, even as a local assembly where I worshipped.

Denominationalism is probably the greatest scourge of the church. I remember whenever we went for evangelism it was basically to get people to leave their church and start fellowshiping with us.
In fact you're not really a Christian until you fellowshiped with us.

I also joined a few interdenominational fellowships, most notably Discipleship classes by Bro Gbile.
In this fellowship I realised they condemned most church denominations.
If you've not been in their Discipleship class you're not yet a Christian.

I know of churches where they don't even allow marriages outside their denomination.

It makes me wonder how did we get here since God is not an author of confusion. We are supposed to be united if indeed we believe in the same Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For in fact the body is not one member but many.

This scripture makes me question what the body of Christ has become.

Because since Cain weeds will always be among the wheats!

Kobojunkie:
1. There is only one Gospel--- the New Covenant Law of the Kingdom of God --- and it is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ told you that He alone is The Way to the Father, The Truth of God and The Eternal Life of God. So, what other Gospel do you cling to in His stead?

2. Accept the compendium of the Bible? I don't understand. Scripture does not begin or end with your Bible as there are other scriptures outside of your Bible.

1. There is only one gospel- Jesus Christ. True
But before Jesus was born, there was the Old testament. Hence the old testament is important.
And after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there were early disciples, some of whom became Apostles.
If you had been one of these early disciples of Jesus Christ, and you preached and taught what Jesus taught you through the understanding of the Holy Spirit, would that mean that you were continuing in Gospel of the Word of God?

2. Exactly. But the 66 canonized books were carefully compiled.

pressplay411:
1. There is only one gospel- Jesus Christ. True
But before Jesus was born, there was the Old testament. Hence the old testament is important.
And after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there were early disciples, some of whom became Apostles.

2. If you had been one of these early disciples of Jesus Christ, and you preached and taught what Jesus taught you through the understanding of the Holy Spirit, would that mean that you were continuing in Gospel of the Word of God?

2. Exactly. But the 66 canonized books were carefully compiled.

1. The Old Law and the Prophets which Jesus Christ also preached are of importance. However, the one and only Gospel remains Jesus Christ.

2. A disciple is a servant who can and will never be greater than His Master. Jesus Christ Himself made this known to you in His Gospel/Law to you. There is only one Gospel/Law and the details of the Law are found in the Words of Jesus Christ-- everlasting Words.

3. Canonized by whom? God?

Kobojunkie:
1. The Old Law and the Prophets which Jesus Christ also preached are of importance. However, the one and only Gospel remains Jesus Christ.

2. A disciple is a servant who can and will never be greater than His Master. Jesus Christ Himself made this known to you in His Gospel/Law to you. There is only one Gospel/Law and the details of the Law are found in the Words of Jesus Christ-- everlasting Words.

3. Canonized by whom? God?

I did not at any point imply that any of the disciples/apostles was greater than Jesus Christ.
I simply stated that since they taught what Jesus Christ taught, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then their epistles are also Word of God.

What do you understand by John 16:12-14

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

pressplay411:
1. I did not at any point imply that any of the disciples/apostles was greater than Jesus Christ.
2. I simply stated that since they taught what Jesus Christ taught, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then their epistles are also Word of God.
3. What do you understand by John 16:12-14
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

1. Every single time you assert the words of the servant as a counter to that stated by the Master Himself, you directly imply that the servant has become greater than the Master.

2. The Spirit of Truth aka the Holy Spirit as Jesus Christ explained to you through His teachings is subject to Him, Jesus Christ, and so will only give that which conforms to that stated by Jesus Christ Himself, and only that which applies as far as the Kingdom of God - John 14 vs 25 - 27 & John 15 vs 25 - 26 & John 16 vs 4 - 15.

3. Here's a New Year tip for you, never lift a verse out of context, and verify every assumption made regarding what is written before believing in it!

8 “When the Helper comes, he will show the people of the world how wrong they are about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment.
9 He will prove that they are guilty of sin, because they don’t believe in me.
10 He will show them how wrong they are about how to be right with God. The Helper will do this, because I am going to the Father. You will not see me then.
11 And he will show them how wrong their judgment is, because their leader[a] has already been condemned.
12 “I have so much more to tell you, but it is too much for you to accept now.
13 But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words. He will speak only what he hears and will tell you what will happen in the future.
14 The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me by telling you what he receives from me.
15 All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will tell you what he receives from me. - John 16 vs 8 - 15

As already explained in His teachings, the one you call the Holy Spirit is the very same Spirit of Truth who lives inside of Jesus Christ and as such is subject to Jesus Christ. And so will never teach or reveal that which contradicts or contravenes Jesus Christ in any manner. Jesus Christ painted a picture of this for you when He clearly informed you that the Helper will not speak His own words.

What this means is that all truths you claim that contradict or contravene the Truth of God, Jesus Christ, are not from God, and a clear indicator that the spirit you claim to have inside of you is also not the Spirit of God since the Holy Spirit would never lie against God.

pressplay411:
Like a lot of Nigerians, I was born into a Christian home but later personally rededicated myself to Christ.

It was a great experience for me personally choosing to follow Christ. I felt his love, the presence of the Holyspirit and so I decided to be discipled.

However, I realised that the body of Christ is divided, even as a local assembly where I worshipped.

Denominationalism is probably the greatest scourge of the church. I remember whenever we went for evangelism it was basically to get people to leave their church and start fellowshiping with us.
In fact you're not really a Christian until you fellowshiped with us.

I also joined a few interdenominational fellowships, most notably Discipleship classes by Bro Gbile.
In this fellowship I realised they condemned most church denominations.
If you've not been in their Discipleship class you're not yet a Christian.

I know of churches where they don't even allow marriages outside their denomination.

It makes me wonder how did we get here since God is not an author of confusion. We are supposed to be united if indeed we believe in the same Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
For in fact the body is not one member but many.

This scripture makes me question what the body of Christ has become.

I've read your submission and I must confess that you have a valid point in wondering why there are so many denominations of christianity today.
It may also interest you to know that one of the major basis for the division today is that different churches teach different things and claim that their knowledge is from the bible.
It would be worthwhile for you to take the bold step of studying the bible for yourself to know what the truth really is.
For example some churches teach today that Jesus is the same as Almighty God. But is that what the Bible says? I would like you to chat me up on 08167469103 so that we consider what the Bible says together on that topic.

Kobojunkie:
1. Every single time you assert the words of the servant as a counter to that stated by the Master Himself, you directly imply that the servant has become greater than the Master.

2. The Spirit of Truth aka the Holy Spirit as Jesus Christ explained to you through His teachings is subject to Him, Jesus Christ, and so will only give that which conforms to that stated by Jesus Christ Himself, and only that which applies as far as the Kingdom of God - John 14 vs 25 - 27 & John 15 vs 25 - 26 & John 16 vs 4 - 15.

3. Here's a New Year tip for you, never lift a verse out of context, and verify every assumption made regarding what is written before believing in it!
As already explained in His teachings, the one you call the Holy Spirit is the very same Spirit of Truth who lives inside of Jesus Christ and as such is subject to Jesus Christ. And so will never teach or reveal that which contradicts or contravenes Jesus Christ in any manner. Jesus Christ painted a picture of this for you when He clearly informed you that the Helper will not speak His own words.

What this means is that all truths you claim that contradict or contravene the Truth of God, Jesus Christ, are not from God, and a clear indicator that the spirit you claim to have inside of you is also not the Spirit of God since the Holy Spirit would never lie against God.

Why do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
Was it stated in the old testament?

The Jews fail to accept Jesus as the Son of God because they are honestly following the Word of God through the Law and Prophets.

Ironiically, you fail to accept that Jesus Himself sent His disciples to continue his ministry.
Some of their teachings seem contradictory to some of the teachings of Christ except when interpreted by the power of the Holy Spjrit.

No, the Holy Spirit does not contradict the teachings of Christ, He expounds it.
Studying the Word of God without the Spirit of God is the perfect recipe for confusion.
So, I assure you that God is not an author of confusion, rather He delights in revealing his Word to his children and ministers.

May we receive Grace and Understanding for every season to grow according to the image of Jesus Christ and manifestation of His glory.

pressplay411:
1. Why do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Was it stated in the old testament?

2. The Jews fail to accept Jesus as the Son of God because they are honestly following the Word of God through the Law and Prophets.

3. Ironiically, you fail to accept that Jesus Himself sent His disciples to continue his ministry. Some of their teachings seem contradictory to some of the teachings of Christ except when interpreted by the power of the Holy Spjrit.

4. No, the Holy Spirit does not contradict the teachings of Christ, He expounds it. Studying the Word of God without the Spirit of God is the perfect recipe for confusion. So, I assure you that God is not an author of confusion, rather He delights in revealing his Word to his children and ministers.

May we receive Grace and Understanding for every season to grow according to the image of Jesus Christ and manifestation of His glory.

1. Because God revealed Him as such to me. He is the good shepherd, the New Covenant sent by God to gather His lost sheep back to God - Ezekiel 34 vs 1 - 32 & Jeremiah 31 vs 31- 34. Jesus Christ Himself affirmed all of this in His teachings.

2. God made it abundantly clear from the beginning that the Israelites would not obey Him and as a result, He would curse and scatter them all to the four winds, after which He would then gather them back to Himself.

1. “Everything that I have mentioned will happen to you—both the blessings and the curses. And you will remember these words when the Lord your God sends you away to other nations.
2 Then you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord your God. You will follow him with all your heart and completely obey all his commands that I have given you today.
3 Then the Lord your God will be kind to you. The Lord your God will make you free again! He will bring you back from the nations where he sent you.
4 Even if you were sent to the farthest parts of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back.
5 The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors had, and the land will become yours. He will do good to you, and you will have more than your ancestors had. You will have more people in your nation than they ever had.
6 The Lord your God will make you and your descendants want to obey him.[a] Then you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. And you will live! - Deuteronomy 30 vs 1 - 6

So, your claim that the Jews honestly obeyed God's Law is a lie against God Himself. Also, God's relationship with them was never based on their acceptance of Him.

1 “Listen, you Israelites! You will go across the Jordan River today. You will go into that land to force out nations greater and stronger than you. Their cities are big and have walls as high as the sky!
2 The people there are tall and strong. They are the Anakites. You know about them. You heard our spies say, ‘No one can win against the Anakites.’
3 But you can be sure that it is the Lord your God who goes across the river before you—and God is like a fire that destroys! He will destroy those nations and make them fall before you. You will force those nations out and quickly destroy them. The Lord has promised you that this will happen.
4 “The Lord your God will force those nations out for you. But don’t say to yourselves, ‘The Lord brought us to live in this land because we are such good people.’ No, the Lord forced those nations out because they were evil, not because you were good.
5 You are going in to take their land, but not because you are good and live right. You are going in, and the Lord your God is forcing those people out because of the evil way they lived. And the Lord wants to keep the promise he made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 The Lord your God is giving you that good land to live in, but you should know that it is not because you are good. The truth is that you are very stubborn people! - Deuteronomy 9 vs 1 - 6

He basically conscripted Israel from before its beginning as His inheritance in this world, and so it mattered not whether the people choose to believe in Him, and His son, or not. What has mattered all this while has always been God's plan.

3. Jesus Christ never said interpretations were necessary as far as His teachings and commandments are concerned. And He certainly did not give you the Helper as an interpreter for what amounts to private delusions that contradict the Truth of God. Consider, for instance, the scriptures you have in your hands. They were penned down by humans in human language to be processed using basic human language comprehension skills by a human audience. So of what use are these your interpretations when the words are not written in angel speak or alien dialect and not meant to be understood only by angels? So why do you prescribe the Spirit as some sort of interpreter for knowledge that is made available in human-speak to you? Why suggest the Spirit of God is what Jesus Christ never said He was?

4. I can guarantee you this, you can study that word all you want— all year if you like —, pretending you study with the one who is the Holy Spirit, and that is you will never get anywhere closer to God's Truth than the Pharisees and Sadducees before you were able to. The Pharisees and Sadducees also claimed to study the word of God only they ended up smack dab against God because, in their many studying, they replaced the Law and teachings of God with the delusions of their minds. It is not in studying that you come to know the Truth of God. Instead, as Jesus Christ instead made known in His Law to you, it is by living your life in continuous submission and obedience to that which He taught, the Truth of God that you come to know the Truth of God - John 8 vs 31 vs 36. He even explained using various parables that it is only when you use the understanding that you have that more understanding will be given to you by the Father - Matthew 25 vs 29 & Matthew 13 vs 10 - 12 & Mark 4 vs 22 - 26.

God's Law is everlasting -unchanging and as such, no man has power to add laws or teachings to it, change any of that which has been declared, or even remove from that which has been decreed - Matthew 5 vs 15 - 17. Those who do so commit sin against God. Jesus Christ is God's Law and so no one can change that which has been decreed by Him- He is everlasting. Now, yes, the understanding you get from the Father indeed expands on the teachings of Jesus Christ but that understanding never contradicts nor contravenes God's Law. So, again, any doctrine or tradition that seeks to expand God's Law by attempting to add, change or remove from that declared by God in HIs Gospel is not of God but of the religion of men, and hence antiChrist.

Kobojunkie:
1. Because God revealed Him as such to me. He is the good shepherd, the New Covenant sent by God to gather His lost sheep back to God - Ezekiel 34 vs 1 - 32 & Jeremiah 31 vs 31- 34. Jesus Christ Himself affirmed all of this in His teachings.

2. God made it abundantly clear from the beginning that the Israelites would not obey Him and as a result, He would curse and scatter them all to the four winds, after which He would then gather them back to Himself. So, your claim that the Jews honestly obeyed God's Law is a lie against God Himself. Also, God's relationship with them was never based on their acceptance of Him.
He basically conscripted Israel from before its beginning as His inheritance in this world, and so it mattered not whether the people choose to believe in Him, and His son, or not. What has mattered all this while has always been God's plan.

3. Jesus Christ never said interpretations were necessary as far as His teachings and commandments are concerned. And He certainly did not give you the Helper as an interpreter for what amounts to private delusions that contradict the Truth of God. Consider, for instance, the scriptures you have in your hands. They were penned down by humans in human language to be processed using basic human language comprehension skills by a human audience. So of what use are these your interpretations when the words are not written in angel speak or alien dialect and not meant to be understood only by angels? So why do you prescribe the Spirit as some sort of interpreter for knowledge that is made available in human-speak to you? Why suggest the Spirit of God is what Jesus Christ never said He was?

4. I can guarantee you this, you can study that word all you want— all year if you like —, pretending you study with the one who is the Holy Spirit, and that is you will never get anywhere closer to God's Truth than the Pharisees and Sadducees before you were able to. The Pharisees and Sadducees also claimed to study the word of God only they ended up smack dab against God because, in their many studying, they replaced the Law and teachings of God with the delusions of their minds. It is not in studying that you come to know the Truth of God. Instead, as Jesus Christ instead made known in His Law to you, it is by living your life in continuous submission and obedience to that which He taught, the Truth of God that you come to know the Truth of God - John 8 vs 31 vs 36. He even explained using various parables that it is only when you use the understanding that you have that more understanding will be given to you by the Father - Matthew 25 vs 29 & Matthew 13 vs 10 - 12 & Mark 4 vs 22 - 26.

God's Law is everlasting -unchanging and as such, no man has power to add laws or teachings to it, change any of that which has been declared, or even remove from that which has been decreed - Matthew 5 vs 15 - 17. Those who do so commit sin against God. Jesus Christ is God's Law and so no one can change that which has been decreed by Him- He is everlasting. Now, yes, the understanding you get from the Father indeed expands on the teachings of Jesus Christ but that understanding never contradicts nor contravenes God's Law. So, again, any doctrine or tradition that seeks to expand God's Law by attempting to add, change or remove from that declared by God in HIs Gospel is not of God but of the religion of men, and hence antiChrist.

You remind me of Apollos.
You know your scripture.
Grace multiplied to you in Jesus name.

Acts 18:24-28
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

pressplay411:
You remind me of Apollos. You know your scripture. Grace multiplied to you in Jesus name..

Recall that Jesus Christ said that it is only if you have the understanding that you have that more understanding will be given to you - Matthew 13 vs 12 & Matthew 25 vs 29 & Mark 4 vs 22 - 26? Well, if the grace of God in Jesus Christ — eternal life— is already eternal i.e. limitless, what is the meaning in suggesting that it be multiplied when it is already limitless?

Abandon religion and focus instead on knowing the Truth of God — Jesus Christ — only then will your understanding of God be of Truth.

Kobojunkie:
Recall that Jesus Christ said that it is only if you have the understanding that you have that more understanding will be given to you - Matthew 13 vs 12 & Matthew 25 vs 29 & Mark 4 vs 22 - 26? Well, if the grace of God in Jesus Christ — eternal life— is already eternal i.e. limitless, what is the meaning in suggesting that it be multiplied when it is already limitless?

Abandon religion and focus instead on knowing the Truth of God — Jesus Christ — only then will your understanding of God be of Truth.

There is so much for you to understand through the Holy Spirit and in the epistles.
I cannot explain them to you except you learn under the feet of the giver of understanding Himself, because even I am but a babe in matters of the Spirit. Recall the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about heavenly things in John 3?

pressplay411:
There is so much for you to understand through the Holy Spirit and in the epistles.
I cannot explain them to you except you learn under the feet of the giver of understanding Himself, because even I am but a babe in matters of the Spirit. Recall the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus about heavenly things in John 3?

The problem here is that you dont even begin to realize that the Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that lived inside of Jesus Christ when He was here on earth. Recall, that Jesus Christ said He is God's Way, God's Truth, and God's Eternal Life. The reason Jesus Christ had to leave the earth so that the Father could then send the Helper had to do with the fact that it is the same Spirit of Truth that resides inside of Jesus Christ that the Father sent back to live inside of those who have through following Jesus Christ become holy/perfect vessels — no longer slaves to sin — for Him, the Spirit of Truth, to live on the inside of. So when you say suggest that the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ can be circumvented, and you claim this was revealed
to you by the Holy Spirit, you invariably accuse the Spirit of Jesus Christ of being a liar.

What is it about what Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus about heavenly things?